To give more animation, and encourage the horse to put his foot out freely, the rider must support his fore hand up, and his haunches under, by a touch of the fingers, the excitement of the tongue, the switch of the whip, or the application of the legs, varied so as not to lose their effect. If the action be not sufficiently united, that also must be corrected.
To unite the horse, the reins must be collected, and the head raised. By bringing his haunches under him, he may be pressed up to the bridle by the aid of the legs; care being taken that this is not done hastily or violently. He must not, however, be confined in the hand, in expectation of raising him, and fixing his head in a proper place, as by this means his bars and mouth would soon grow callous.
The most certain sign of a horse’s trotting well is, that when, in his trot, the rider presses him a little, he offers to gallop. If the horse gallop when he ought not, the waist should be pushed forwards toward the pommel of the saddle, and a bend or hollow at the same time be made in the loins.
Turns, Stops, &c. in the Trot.
As to turns, seeing that the operations directed to be performed at the walk are to be practised in the trot, nothing further need be said of them. As stops are required to coincide with cadences, it must be observed, that the first part of the cadence in the trot is performed by the two feet that lead; and that the conclusion of the cadence is performed by the two feet that follow, and this should complete the stop. The rider should occasionally alter the measure of the action, by strengthening the hand, and at the same time keeping up a sufficient degree of animation to prevent the horse from stopping. He may then give him liberty, and proceed with the same spirit as before. He may make a stop; and may even rein him back two or three steps; in both cases keeping him so united and animated that the instant the hand gives him liberty he advances as rapidly as before. ([Plate XXXIX.] fig 1.)
ROAD RIDING.
Road riding is here introduced, because the trot is its most appropriate pace.
The difference between manège and road riding, consists chiefly in a shorter seat and a shorter stirrup being used in the latter. A certain freedom and ease are also admissible. These, however, must not exceed propriety, lead to neglect of the horse, or risk security. The hand should keep its situation and property, though the body be turned to any extreme for the purpose of viewing or conversing; and the body must not, by any freedom it takes, throw itself out of balance, or take liberties when it cannot be done with safety.
When the trot is extended to an unpleasant roughness, the jolting may be eased by rising upward and slightly forward in the stirrups. The faster the horse trots, the easier it is to rise; for it is the action of the horse, and not any effort of the rider, that must raise him. The foot he leads with determines that which the rider must rise to; and, if the horse change his foot, he must change with him. He must accordingly rise and fall with the leading foot, rising when the leading foot is in the air, and falling when it comes to the ground. The rise and fall of the body are to be smooth, and as regular as the beats of the feet.